


Coming Home

by Jellybean96



Series: Bits and Things [7]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU, Army, Birth, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 10:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3932596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey babes! Here is a new one-shot for you guys. I feel like we all need some fluff and stuff right now. Especially if you've seen the finale last night for season two. It's like, thank goodness they're getting a season three. It was definitely a crazy ride and I need to know what happens next.</p><p>Now for the new one.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote>





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! Here is a new one-shot for you guys. I feel like we all need some fluff and stuff right now. Especially if you've seen the finale last night for season two. It's like, thank goodness they're getting a season three. It was definitely a crazy ride and I need to know what happens next.
> 
> Now for the new one.
> 
> Enjoy!

"I'm going to miss you," Skye says to her husband, Grant, as the two lie together in their bed. Their legs are tangled together beneath the sheets; arms wrapped protectively around one another.

"I know you will, honey," he replies, tracing random shapes onto the bare skin of her side. "But this is something I need to do. For myself."

"I don't want you to go," she whines and hugs him closer to her own body, wanting to feel the warmth from his skin against her own.

Grant sighs, "I'm just going to do one more tour, Skye. Then I'll be home again and we can live out the rest of our lives. I won't go back once I'm done."

"Do you know how long you're going to be gone this time?"

Grant shakes his head, "It's hard to say. Could be a couple months, could be a couple of years. But as soon as I know when I'm coming back home, you'll be the first to know."

"Promise?"

"With all my heart," he smiles.

"Good," she says, snuggling deeper once more into his arms. "But I don't think I'm going to go to the airport tomorrow," she says after a quiet moment.

"Why not?"

"I don't think I'll be able to handle it. I can barely come to terms with it right now. I'm sorry, but I can't go tomorrow."

"Hey, I understand. So since you won't be coming to the airport with me to say goodbye, why don't we just have our own little farewell right now?" He asks with a smirk.

"I like the sound of that," she says, rolling over on top of him and pressing her lips to his.

* * *

The next morning when she wakes up she finds his side of the bed empty. Sighing sadly, she rolls out of the bed and trudges out the room and down the stairs. She enters the kitchen and starts the coffee maker, getting a mug out of the cupboard above the microwave. As she waits, she leans back against the counter, just staring off into space. Not a single important thought is running through her mind. When the coffee is done, she pours herself a cup, moving herself into the living room and sits down in one of the chairs. Leaning back she takes a sip from her coffee and continues to stare into nothingness. She momentarily turns her head to the side and the sight of one of the photos on the top of the fireplace catches her eye. She sets her cup on the coffee table, stands up from the chair, walks over to the fireplace and takes the photo down off of it, holding it in her hands and staring down at it. A small smile appears on her face at the memory captured in the photo; the day she and Grant got married. It had been the best day of her life. The photo captured that happiness perfectly.

It shows the two of them at their reception, sitting together in the middle of the long table at the front of the room. Skye is sitting in Grant's lap, her arms wrapped around his neck and his around her waist. They are looking at each other lovingly, wide smiles on both of their faces. Skye looks as if she is laughing at something Grant had said and he just smiles at her. The photo is in black and white, making it even more special. Fitz really knew how to capture the moments that counted.

As she stares down at the photo in her hands, a frown crosses her face. She can't help but think about him. Right at that very moment he is getting on a plane to be shipped off halfway across the world and she won't see him for longer than she would like.

Setting the picture back down on the fireplace, she turns around and makes her way to the office they share. She decides to listen to the mix CD Grant had made for her on their sixth month anniversary when they were dating. She loves listening to it and thinking about him whenever he isn't there. And knowing her, she's going to be listening to it a lot.

* * *

*8 ½ months later, somewhere in the Middle East*

"Yo Ward! Mail call!"

Grant looks up from his notebook to see one of his close friends, Lance Hunter, standing in the doorway to their tent. "Yeah, I'm coming." Lance nods his head and then turns to leave the tent, heading towards the main part of their camp.

Grant turns back to his notebook, finishes what he was writing and then closes it, sticking it and the pencil underneath of his pillow. He stands up from his cot, exits the tent and walks out to the center of camp, meeting up with all of the rest of his army friends.

"Ward, you're always late for mail call," Lance says as he walks up to him and claps him on the back.

"Yes. But Hunter, some of us actually have a life that they want to keep up with. Unlike you, of course." Grant says back with a friendly smirk.

"You wound me Ward," Hunter says, putting his hand to his heart, "right here."

"Shut up," Grant pushes him slightly, causing the two to laugh.

"Hunter!" Lance looks up as a package is tossed his way.

He catches it effortlessly and examines the return address. He rips open the package right there on the spot and breathes a sigh of relief, "Thank you, mum." He reaches inside and pulls out a box of treats.

"You're such a momma's boy," Grant says, looking at his friend.

"Hey, don't blame me for loving my mum's homemade treats. And you love them too. Don't even try and deny it."

Grant just smiles at him.

"Ward!" He looks up as a letter is tossed in his direction.

He snatches the letter out of the air and looks at the return address. A smile instantly grows on his face and he rips open the envelope. He moves to sit down on a stump nearby as he unfolds the letter, catching the two photographs that fall out. He looks at the photos and smiles even wider, tears building in his eyes. He hurriedly wipes them away before they can fall and looks down at the letter in his hands, reading it over.

"That a letter from your honey?" Lance asks, sitting down next to him, a mouth full of cookies.

Grant rolls his eyes, "Yeah Hunter, it's a letter from my  _honey_. And she has a name by the way."

"I know."

"You're an idiot," Grant says.

"Did she send you another photo?"

"Yeah," Grant hands one of the photos over to him. "Even at 8 ½ months pregnant, she still looks as beautiful as she did the day I left."

Lance looks down at the photo in his hands and gives a small smile. It's a photo of Skye standing sideways in front of a floor length mirror. She's holding the camera up to take a photo of herself and her stomach. One hand is underneath of her baby bump, a huge smile on her face. He flips the photo over to read the writing on the back,  _We're doing great, daddy. Not much longer now. Mommy can't wait for you to meet me._ This is how things always went. Ever since Skye and Grant had talked over Skype and she told him about the pregnancy she would send him a new photo in every letter that she sent him. Once in a while it would be two photos; one would be an actual photo of Skye and the other would be an ultrasound photo. Today was two photos. And there would always be some sort of inscription on the back of the one of Skye, letting Grant know about her and the baby's progress. He would always show the Lance the photos, since he was there when he found out about the baby.

"Did she send an ultrasound too? Or is it just one photo this time?" Lance asks as he hands the photograph back to Grant.

Grant accepts the photo and then pulls out the additional photo, "Yeah, ultrasound too."

Lance takes the photo and looks at it for a moment before handing it back, "You've got a great thing going for you back home, man."

"Thanks. You know, you could have something good too. That is, if you weren't such a child about everything."

"Well that, my friend, would require changing and maturing. Which I'm sure we both know I don't do. By the way, you're baby still looks like an alien."

"Case in point," Grant says with a silent laugh. "But seriously man, whenever you feel like it, when your tour is up, come to LA. You can stay with Skye and I until you find a place of your own. And I can introduce you to some very pretty girls that Skye and I have known for years. Maybe you'll hit it off with one of them."

"You know, I might just take you up on that offer. Though I don't know if I would be able to survive living in the same house as a screaming child."

"You'd be staying in the guest house."

"Alright, well, I'll think about it."

"Gentlemen," both guys look up to see their Sergeant addressing the whole group. "We have some movement on the south border. Gear up and let's move out. Dismissed."

"Time for some combat! Let's go!" Lance says as he jumps from his seat and does a little dance before heading back to his tent.

"That attitude is going to get you seriously hurt one day. You know that, right?" Grant says as Lance retreats. He just holds up his fist in the air and does another little dance move as he turns a corner and leaves Grant's view. Grant shakes his head at his friend and then packs the letter back into its envelope before standing up and heading back to his tent himself.

* * *

"Hunter," Grant whispers to his friend as they sit crouched down behind a piece of building in the middle of the desert. "Did you see that over there?" He motions to an area of the building just ahead of them and to the left a little ways.

"What was it?" Lance asks as he moves slightly closer to Grant.

"I don't know, but I don't like it."

"Should we go and check it out?"

"No man. We should just stay here. We have our orders."

"Come on, Ward," Lance coaxes. "Ever since you've arrived, you've been playing by the rules. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Sense of adventure?" Grant repeats with raised eyebrows. "Are you serious? We're in the army, Hunter. I'm not really looking to go on an adventure while we're out here. In case you don't remember, I have a wife I love at home and a baby on the way. A baby who's birth I most likely won't be there for. I have my own adventure back home, where it's safe."

"Whatever man," Lance shakes his head. "I'm gonna go and check it out. Come with me if you want."

"Hunter, get back here," Grant says as Lance stands up and makes his way out from behind the building wall. "Hunter!"

Lance just ignores Grant and keeps on moving towards the center of the building. Grant groans and stands up from behind the building wall and begins walking towards his friend.

"Hunter, come on man. Let's just get back to our post."

"Hang on, I'm almost there."

"Hunter, I have a really bad feeling about this one." Grant cautiously continues towards his friend when he sees Lance stop in his path. "What is it?" Lance doesn't respond and Grant takes a step forward, "Hunter what is it?" Lance still doesn't respond and Grant moves in closer.

The next thing Grant registers is a loud beeping coming from where Lance is and then a loud bang and flash of light as Lance is tossed into the air.

"Hunter!" Grant yells as the blast throws him backwards and he lands on his back, hitting his head on a flat rock. "Hunter," Grant whisper mumbles as he looks around him. He tries to move but before he can even move an inch, his eyes shut involuntarily and he falls back, everything going black.

* * *

*Los Angeles, California*

The doorbell goes off as Skye is in the nursery, finishing a few details of the room, one hand on her stomach and one hand on her lower back. "I'm coming!" She shouts as she approaches the front door. When she reaches the front door, she pulls it open to reveal her best friends standing in the doorway. A smile grows on her face when she sees them. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaims. "What are you doing here?"

"We just thought we'd drop in for a visit," Jemma tells her as they all step into the house.

"Well that's great of you all to come, but it's completely unexpected," she says with a smile.

"We can go if you want us to," Bobbi teases her with a smile.

"No no no, don't go. It's fine. I just wasn't expecting you. I was planning on Skyping with Grant sometime today."

"What time?" Jemma asks.

"I don't know. It depends on his schedule. He usually calls me because I never know if he is out in the field or at base camp. Hence why I have my laptop in the living room, so I can catch his call if it comes in. You guys are welcome to talk to him too if you want."

"We don't want to intrude on your time with Grant," Kara says.

"You wouldn't be intruding," Skye says back. "I'm sure he'd love to see all of you."

"If you insist," Bobbi says. "We'll stay."

"So," Kara starts as they walk into the living room and sit on the couch, "how is she doing?"

Skye puts her hand on her stomach and rubs it gently, "She's doing good. Not letting me sleep much lately. But I think she's just antsy to get here and meet her daddy."

"That's great," Bobbi says.

"Yeah. I just hope he comes home soon. Preferably in time for her arrival, but you never know with the army and-" Skye gets cut off by the phone ringing and moves to get up and answer it.

"Don't move," Jemma says. "I got it." She stands up from her spot on the couch and walks into the kitchen to retrieve the phone. The others just sit and wait as Jemma answers the phone.

"Hello?" They hear her say from the kitchen. "Um, no, this is her friend Jemma. May I ask who's speaking?" There's a pause as she listens. "Of course, one moment." They hear footsteps and then Jemma enters the living room again, the phone in her hand and a weird look on her face. She walks up to Skye and hands her the phone, "It's for you. The man wouldn't tell me who he is."

Skye accepts the phone and then stands up from the couch with some help from Jemma. "Hello?" She says, holding it up to her ear.

" _Hello, is this Skye Ward?"_

"This is she. May I ask who's speaking?"

" _This is Sergeant Robert Parker. I have some news about your husband."_

Skye stops in her tracks she had been making while pacing the room, "What about him?"

" _Your husband was at his post yesterday morning when he was caught in a bomb explosion not too far from his station."_

Skye's breath hitches in her throat and she feels like the walls are closing in, "Is he-" she trails off, not really able to finish her question.

" _No. He's not."_  Skye releases a breath she had been holding.  _"Fortunately he was far enough away from the explosion, but he did receive some upper body injuries. He was flown out to the closest military hospital near your city for recovery. We're going to have a car come and pick you up at your house to transport you to the hospital."_

"Okay, when will it be here?"

" _Sometime tomorrow morning."_

"Alright, thank you." She says and hangs up her phone. She stands in the middle of the room, not saying a word, but just waits as the information really sinks in.

"Skye? Who was that?"

Skye pulls herself from her thoughts to see her friends all looking at her with worried looks on their faces. "What?" She says when she comes back to earth.

"The phone call, Skye," Kara says. "Who was it?"

"Oh, right. That was Grant's Sergeant."

"What was it about?" Bobbi asks.

"Um, Grant was caught in a bomb explosion yesterday." All three women in the room gasp.

"Is he okay?" Jemma asks her.

"Yeah, he just has some leg injuries I guess. They flew him out to the military hospital here in California. Someone's picking me up tomorrow to drive me there."

"Do you want us to go with you?" Kara asks.

Skye shakes her head, "I think it'd be better if I went by myself."

"Okay," Jemma says, standing up and going towards Skye. "We'll leave you to kind of just, be here. Call us if you need anything, alright?"

"I will," she says back, and hugs each of her friends. "Thanks again, you guys."

They all nod their heads and then make their way to the front door, opening it up. With a final goodbye, they all exit the house, making their way to the street out front to go to their cars. When they are all down the street and around the corner, Skye shuts the front door and then goes back into the living room and sits down on the couch. She sets the phone down beside her and leans back, rubbing her hand up and down her protruding belly again. She feels a kick and smiles sadly, "Shh baby, it's okay. Daddy's fine. Daddy's just fine."

* * *

*Military Hospital in LA*

Skye slowly makes her way up the front steps, one hand on the railing with the other underneath of her stomach. The man who picked her up that morning from her house is walking beside her, one hand on her lower back to help support her. When they reach the front doors, the man grabs the handle and opens it, allowing Skye to walk inside. He walks in beside her and leads her to the front desk. "Hello, I have Skye Ward here to see her husband." The man says.

"Of course," the woman behind the counter says. "You can go on back."

"Thank you," the man nods his head politely and then leads Skye away from the counter and to the elevator. "Come on," he says. He presses the up arrow button for the elevator and the two of them stand in the hallway, waiting for the elevator to arrive. Once it does, they step inside and he presses the 2 button, waiting as the doors close.

The ride up is silent, neither one saying a word, not knowing what to say. Skye stands there, staring at the doors, while absentmindedly rubbing her stomach up and down. The elevator reaches its stop and the door opens, allowing Skye and her escort to step out of the elevator.

"This way," he instructs, guiding her down the hallway of rooms filled with injured servicemen and women. "Right here," he says when they reach the correct room. "Go on in, I'll be out here if you need anything."

Skye nods her head in thanks and then takes a step forward, grasping the door handle in her hand. She twists the knob and lets the door slowly swing open. Entering the room, she takes notice of what she sees. Machines are crowding around Grant's bed with all sorts of tubes and wires running throughout his body. He is lying in the middle of the bed, eyes closed, blanket covering his body. He has a few cuts and scrapes on his face, but besides that, he looks just as he did before he left. She slowly makes her way towards his bed, lowering herself into the chair beside his bed and taking his hand in her own.

"Hey baby," she says softly. "I'm here. You're home early. But that's okay. You can be here to see our daughter being born. I'm just sorry it had to be like this." She looks down as a few tears fall from her eyes, "I was so scared when your Sergeant called me."

"Well I'm fine." Skye's head snaps up and she looks over at Grant. His eyes are open and he's looking at her.

"Hey," she says with a smile.

"Hey," he says back, squeezing her hand. "How is she?"

Skye looks down at her stomach and then back at Grant, "She's doing alright. I'm glad you're here to see her being born."

"Just a couple more weeks, and then we'll have our beautiful baby girl in our arms."

"Yeah, we will," she says, a few tears of joy falling from her eyes, "How are you feeling?"

"Alright. I don't really feel much pain."

"That's because we gave you some medication a little while ago." They both look up to see the doctor walking into the room, a clipboard in his hands. "Something to help with the pain." He walks up to Skye and holds his hand out, "I'm Doctor Callaghan. You must be Skye."

"Yes," she says, accepting his hand.

"Well Grant, everything seems to be looking good. You should be able to go home very soon."

"Thank you, doc. But, can I ask what exactly happened? I don't remember."

The doctor pulls a chair up and sits at the end of the bed, "According to people in your unit that we talked to, you were out in the field with your friend, Lance Hunter, when a bomb went off. Fortunately you were far enough away to not get the brunt of the blast. But when you landed, a large piece of the building fell on one of your arms. We had to do a major surgery."

"Meaning?"

"We had to amputate your arm."

Skye gasps sharply and grips Grant's hand tighter, "Is he going to be okay?"

"He's going to be fine. The surgery went well, no complications. But if you feel or see anything weird, you'll need to get it looked at straight away."

"Okay, thank you. Anything else we should know?"

"As of right now, no. We do have a wheelchair for you to use to get around in though because your ribs were fractured so it's going to help ease up on that pain. It should be brought in to you momentarily."

"Thank you," Grant says. "When exactly can I go home?"

"Sometime tomorrow. We just want to monitor your vitals for a little while longer to make sure we didn't miss anything initially."

"Okay. Thank you." The doctor nods his head and gets out of his chair and makes his way to the door.

"Whoa," Skye says, jumping slightly and putting her hand on her stomach.

"What is it?" Grant asks, looking at her as the doctor turns around. "Is it the baby?"

"Yeah," she nods her head. "I think it was just a Braxton Hicks contraction. They've been happening for a few days now." A moment later, Skye feels a small trickle down her legs and looks down, then back up at Grant, "Grant, I think my water just broke."

Grant's eyes go wide and he tries to sit up. He manages to do so and looks over at the doctor who is on the phone with someone, "Aren't you going to do something?"

Doctor Callaghan puts his hand on the receiver of the phone, "I'm calling one of my colleagues. We're going to deliver this baby here."

Grant nods his head and looks back at Skye; she is taking deep breathes and wincing whenever a contraction hits. "You're going to be fine," he tells her, "They're getting someone right now. This baby is going to be born here." Skye just nods her head.

A moment later, a nurse walks into the room, pushing a wheelchair in front of her. The doctor looks to Skye, "Skye. This is Nurse Winnie. She's going to help you to the room where we're going to deliver your baby." Skye nods as the nurse steps forward and helps her from the bedside chair to the wheelchair. "Grant, we'll have another wheelchair brought in here momentarily and then we'll take you down there as well."

"Okay," Grant nods. "I'll be there soon, Skye," he says to his wife as the nurse wheels her from the room. He sighs as he watches Skye being taken from the room.

A few minutes later, another wheelchair arrives in the room and Doctor Callaghan helps him into it. When Grant gets a look at himself, his breath hitches in his throat. It takes him a moment to actually register what has happened to him. While his right arm is partially wrapped in bandages, the other arm is completely gone from the elbow down; in its place a small round stump wrapped in bandages to keep it protected.

"Are you okay, Grant?" Doctor Callaghan asks in concern at the sight of his patients' face.

"Yes, sir," he says. "Just a little shocked. That's all."

"I understand. It's completely normal. You'll get used to it eventually."

"Guess I'll just have to take your word for it. Now get me down there. Skye would kill me if I missed the birth." Doctor Callaghan nods his head, going to the back of Grant's wheelchair and pushing him out of the room and down the hallway.

* * *

When they reach the correct room, the doctor slowly opens the door and pushes Grant inside.

"I'm here," Grant says as he approaches the bedside.

Skye looks over and smiles at him, "Thank goodness. Now come here and hold my hand." She holds her hand out to him and he accepts it, letting her crush it in a death grip when need be. But at the moment he doesn't care, he's just glad to be there for the birth of his daughter. Because if he had been just a foot closer, he wouldn't be here to witness this miracle.

"You can do this, Skye," he says to her as she breathes in and out slowly. "Pretty soon our baby girl is going to be in our arms. And I told the hospital to call everyone so they know what's happening."

Skye looks over at him and smiles, "I'm so glad you're here."

"So am I, honey, so am I." he smiles back.

"Okay Skye, you're just about to 10 centimeters, so we're going to be ready for you to push in about a minute or two."

Skye nods her head in acknowledgement, not really being able to talk. She squeezes Grant's hand tighter as another contraction passes. Grant doesn't say another word, letting her crush his hand with each contraction that passes.

"Alright Skye," the doctor says, "time to push."

* * *

"She's absolutely beautiful," Skye says, staring at the little pink bundle in her arms.

"Just like her mother," Grant says, pulling Skye into a side hug.

Skye looks up at him and smiles, "I'm so glad you were able to be home for this."

"Even though I lost my arm?" He asks her, sadness in his voice.

"Hey," Skye says, getting Grant to look at her, "even though you lost an arm, that doesn't matter. Our daughter isn't going to care that you have one arm missing. She may ask questions as she gets older, but she is going to love you all the same. Because you are her father. She'll never stop loving you because you only have one arm."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," she smiles.

He smiles back, "Okay then."

"Now, one last thing to decide, what should we name this little ray of sunshine?" Skye asks.

"Well um, I was thinking of a name a little bit ago. I had this friend overseas, his name's Lance," he looks down at his daughter, "I figured we could name her after him."

Skye scrunches up her nose, "I'm trying to figure out how to make Lance into a girl's name right now."

Grant chuckles, "No. Not Lance."

"Then what?"

"Lance's last name was Hunter. It works for either a girl or a boy."

Skye thinks about the name, looking down at the baby. "Hunter."

"Hang on. Let's use that as her middle name."

Skye looks up at him, "Really? Why?"

"Because I know Lance. And he may be…gone now, but I know he'd get a big head if we make our daughter's first name his last name."

"Okay, so we make her middle name Hunter. But what about her first name? I know we talked, but I don't think we ever actually decided on one."

Grant takes a moment to look down at his daughter, taking in her features. "Jessica."

"Jessica," Skye repeats. "Jessica Hunter."

Grant looks back down at the baby, "Jessica Hunter Ward. I love it."

"Me too," Skye says, "What do you think, sweetheart?" She looks down at the baby in her arms, "Do you like the name? Jessica Hunter?"

Right after Skye speaks, the baby girl opens her eyes and looks up at her parents, staring up at the two of them.

"I think she likes it," Grant smiles.

"I think she definitely likes it," Skye smiles back. "So it's settled then. Jessica Hunter Ward. A perfect name for a perfect baby."

And at that moment in his life, Grant is happier than he ever has been in his whole entire life. Because at that moment, he knows he gets to stay with his wife and his new baby girl for the rest of his life. And he never has to go back into the Army. He just wishes Lance could see him now.

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think? Did you like it? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


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